The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University seeks two Postdoctoral Research Associates who will contribute to research on science communication and help advance the Center's research-based curriculum. The Alda Method combines improvisational theater techniques that help scientists to pay dynamic attention to the needs of their listeners and learn to spontaneously adjust to those needs. This approach integrates techniques to help scientists distill their message, shape compelling stories, create common ground, and use conversational language that fosters genuine human connections. These Postdoctoral Associate positions are designed to advance science communication research and help create new training modules. The successful candidates will support the Center's commitment to advancing research-based science communication curriculum.

One Postdoctoral Research Associate will focus on the area of climate change communication; the second will focus on advancing research and training curriculum designed to support women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The Associates will develop research projects designed to advance the Alda Center's science communication training methods. Working in collaboration with Alda Center faculty and staff, the successful candidates will be responsible for synthesizing research within specific thematic areas (Climate Change; Gender and STEM), conducting new research, analyzing data, co-designing new curriculum, testing curriculum in the Alda Center's on-the-road-workshops, presenting work at conferences, preparing publications, collaborating on grant proposals. The Postdocs will receive support to become certified Alda Science Communication Trainers and will help to implement Alda training in the U.S. and abroad. The training experience will enable these postdocs to conduct research on science communication in the context of real-world application. The candidates may also teach up to three credits per semester depending on need and interest and may also help to train new Alda Center trainers. Other duties as assigned, which may include attending scientific conferences and meetings.